Stephen King says Apple TV's new series outshines Widow's Bay

Stephen King just did the thing he almost never does: he picked a favorite between two buzzy shows on the same streamer. And he did it loudly. Apple TV+ has a pair of dark thrillers making noise this year, and King put his thumb on the scale for one of them.

King takes a side

On X, on June 17, 2026, King said he likes Apple TV+ newcomer Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed more than its fellow hit Widow's Bay. His post made the rounds fast for obvious reasons: the guy does not usually stack-rank TV like this, and both shows have been carrying a lot of the platform's buzz this year.

WIDOW'S BAY is good. MAXIMUM PLEASURE GUARANTEED is even better. It's like Hitchcock came back to do it one more time. And Tatiana Maslany is so good. The play of emotions on her face is pretty incredible. She goes from comic to terror in an instant.

Clear enough. He name-checks Hitchcock to describe the vibe and singles out Tatiana Maslany for the kind of face-acting that flips from funny to horrifying before you can blink. If you were wondering what tipped the scales, that pretty much answers it.

So what is Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed?

The series centers on Paula Saunders, a newly divorced fact checker and copy editor trying to restart her life. Then she becomes convinced she witnessed a crime, and her deep-dive to prove it blows up everything around her. We are talking blackmail, murder, cam boys, and youth soccer colliding in ways that are very much not in the parenting handbook, all while she navigates a tense custody fight and an identity that keeps slipping out from under her. It is a dark comedy with real thriller stakes and enough emotional bite to leave a mark.

Maslany leads a loaded cast

Maslany plays Paula, and King is not the only one noticing what she is doing. She is joined by Jake Johnson as Paula's ex-husband Karl, Brandon Flynn as Trevor, a mysterious cam boy tied up in the mess, and Murray Bartlett in a key supporting turn. The ensemble keeps the chaos sharp and weirdly funny without deflating the danger.

Release check: where both shows are at

• Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed premiered May 20 with two episodes; new episodes roll out every Wednesday through the season finale on July 5. Fresh images from Episode 6 dropped June 16 via Nexus Point News.
• Widow's Bay wrapped its first season around June 17, and Apple TV+ had already greenlit Season 2 a few days before that finale aired.

By any measure, these two are Apple TV+'s biggest breakout wins of the year. King's verdict just makes it clearer which one currently has his full attention.

Where I land

When Stephen King says a show feels like Hitchcock decided to clock back in, you pay attention. Maximum Pleasure Guaranteed is the one he is telling you to watch first. And based on Maslany's whiplash performance alone, that tracks.

Are you with King on this one, or is Widow's Bay still your top Apple TV+ thriller of the year? Drop your take below.